In order to showcase Ghana’s rich cultural heritage and artistic talents, the Ghana Export Promotion Authority in collaboration with the Ghanaian Embassy in France, the UNESCO Commission in Ghana and Media AK Entertainment, have organized « SoundOut », an art exhibition on April 23, 2022 at the Élysée Montmartre and from April 25 to 28, 2022 at the UNESCO House, Hall Ségur in Paris.
The « SoundOut » exhibition aims to bring the Ghanaian art world to the global market. It aims to promote the works of artists such as Dr. Afua Asabea Asare, Nana Kwasi Agyare, Larry Otoo, Martin Dartey, Moh Awudu, Kweku Genfi, Joseph Amarkine Amartefio, Daniel Botchway, Rojo Mettle Nunoo, Bright Danso and Nana Yaa Omane Pepraah beyond the borders and to provide patrons, galleries and collectors with an extraordinary showcase.
The artists in the « SoundOut » exhibition
Dr. Afua Asabea Asare
Dr. Afua Asabea Asare is a self-taught artist whose energy and pleasure lies in observing solutions to the complexities residing in the works of past masters and strives to achieve a similar quality in her work. With every thought that strikes a chord, he loves to test everything that comes his way. Her works are the product of her impression of the world made of calmness that gives her tranquility and serenity.
She seeks inspiration in everything from art, music and nature, as well as anything considered “abnormal” and believes that this is where the most beautiful things in the universe come from.
Nana Kweisi Agyare
Nana Kweisi Agyare has been a pioneer in abstract art for over twenty years.
An acclaimed Ghanaian artist, he uses different types of media and materials to create visual images, elements of life in contemporary Ghana. He has achieved both local and universal recognition and has delivered works found in private collections and in many different spaces that highlight his blend of strong, cool tones, skillfully interwoven with more obscure varieties.
He has participated in exhibitions around the world, taking advantage of his movements to transform his specialty and propose the exquisite magnificence and fragile nature of human gestural communication and various public activities through artistic creations of delicious African symbols.
Larry Otto
Larry Otto is one of the most celebrated painters in Ghana today, a contemporary curator as he likes to define himself. His subject matter is motivated by the daily exercises of the everyday Ghanaian. He paints to record and safeguard our practices. Clear acrylic fixtures fill his canvases, their vivid hues consolidating to shape stunning African scenes, scenes that he believes are difficult to reproduce.
His interest in music is evident in his work. His figures, almost personified from time to time, break into unique rhythms, bringing out the jazz.
Moh Awudu
With over a hundred exhibitions and festivals to his credit, Moh Awudu is a versatile artist who focuses on the exotic idea of art, planning to impact the positive way of behaving through paintings, graffiti and regular art creations.
Some of his artwork, located in Accra, highlights issues such as child labor, schooling, child trade, disinfection, early pregnancy, among other social indecencies. They are also meant to give hope to those affected.
Ghanaian Visual Artist of the Year 2020, Moh Awudu has also worked with prestigious artists such as Alexandre Keto, Breeze Yoko, Marko Clement, Yann Lazoo, Da Cruz, Fábio Binho Cerqueira, Tioch Fuckcity, David Harlen, Neequaye Dreph Dsane, Abraham Osorio, James Shields, Osa Okunkpolor, Setordzi Ko, Bright Ackwerh and Ian Kwakye.
Kwaku Genfi
Kwaku Genfi is a prolific self-taught artist who has mastered his specialty in recent years. Passionate about art from a young age and with an inherent ability to paint the everyday beauties he sees in his general environment, he aspired to become a professional artist, but fate chose anyway and he had to postpone that fantasy.
In the mid-2000s, Kwaku Genfi picked up his paintbrush and produced stunning works using his medium of choice: acrylic and oil paint. His work mesmerizes crowds as it depicts the unprecedented excellence and uniqueness of standard individuals, as well as the rich and vibrant culture of Ghana’s territories. He has been acclaimed in the United States, as evidenced by his exhibition of work supported by the Visual Arts League at the East Brunswick Municipal Building.
Amarkine Amarteifo
Amarkine Amarteifo has been painting for over 36 years. He is also a sculptor, writer and essayist. He has participated in several art exhibitions in Ghana and abroad and was the winner of the ACRAG award for best painter in 1999.
He leads the Accra for Art initiative, which is a branding project for the beautification of the city of Accra by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly. His poems have been printed in many Ghanaian newspapers and online entertainment sites, as well as in the Obsidian Journal of Literature and the Arts in the African Diaspora.
Amarkine Amarteifo is also a founding member of the Ghanaian Contemporary Art Group, which organizes exhibitions at the Airport City Marriott Hotel in Accra, and a member of the Ghanaian Association of Visual Artists.
Daniel Botchway
Daniel Botchway, a young Ghanaian artist, is prominent for his artistic creations. He uses acrylics and recycled materials, including pieces of cloth, cardboard, sawdust, etc. Exchanging lifestyles of the past and present. The themes and settings of his works are mainly market scenes that derive from and are affected by the interesting reality he experienced as a child in an area close to the commercial sectors.
He is excited about the bright future that is offered to the present and the group of people to come. Thus, he uses his scales, paint and brushes to tell the recorded realities, speeches and real factors that associate the past with the present. He does it so well that the young people perceive the chance they have and appreciate the progress made by the society.
Martin Kofi Dartey
Martin Kofi Dartey is one of Ghana’s most productive contemporary painters. He has been painting for about 40 years. As a colorist, his works cover many processes and styles. A former student and teacher at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana and a former lecturer at Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya, Martin has exhibited in several countries including Ghana, Kenya, the United States, the Netherlands, Japan and Germany.
After spending some time in Kenya, he currently lives in Accra and invests his energy in education and painting.
Nana Yaa Omane Peprah
Nana Yaa Omane Peprah is a seasoned columnist and graduate of the Ghana Institute of Journalism who has worked for the Ghana Times for over five years. After spending some time in the UK, she returned to work for a Swiss organization as a public relations manager. During her working life, she has held various positions in a wide range of organizations.
Most recently, while recovering from a medical condition at home, she created a piece of art based on her situation, which resulted in « Marquesa Arts ». The ease of acrylic tones allows her to unleash her creative spirit in richly shaded theoretical masterpieces.
She has had two successful exhibitions and in the first one, all of her work was sold in one day.
Rojo Mettle Nunoo
Rojo Mettle Nunoo studied art at the University, but in the long run he has held various positions in the academic community, in the private sector and in various government positions.
Some of the major positions he has held include: Board Member of the University of Ghana Medical Center, Acting Managing Director of Sewerage Systems Ghana Ltd, Assistant Minister of State in the Ministry of Health, Assistant Minister of State in the Ministry of Roads and Highways, Policy Management Group in the Office of the President, Consultant on Education Policy and Development Partners with ACTIONAID (British NGO) and UNESCO.
Bright Danso
Brilliant Danso is a young Ghanaian artist who makes probably the most beautiful objects on the planet using fire. His category of art is called pyrography, which is very fascinating in Ghana and in many parts of the world. In addition to using fire to create beautiful and attractive images that stimulate the imagination, he is also a sculptor and painter.
His work is a source of motivation for many artists throughout Ghana and he looks forward to becoming a renowned pyrographer. He is known to have made what is believed to be the world’s first ever pyrography table, called the « Legacy Table ».
This prompted him to think about and understand his new project of using heat to make wooden furniture glow. The Fire For Artwork Creation has big dreams that are simply ready to be designed.